Like Peanut butter and Chocolate! Like Strawberries & Cream! Like Rum and Cokes at midnight on a hot summer night in the late 70's when cute boys with collar length hair who smelled faintly of Brut were driving muscle cars with one hand, taking a long drag on a Salem with the other, and searching for their favorite Eagles or Head East song on the A.M. radio station while I was happy in the passenger seat wearing [...]
6 STATES BAR CONTRACTUAL INDEMNITY FOR ADDITIONAL INSUREDS Colorado. See, Colo. Stat. § 13-21-111.5 (except for railroads); Georgia. See, Ga. Code § 13-8-2 (but allows hold harmless clauses in an insuring contract); Montana. See, Mont. Rev. Code § 28-2-2111; New Mexico. See, N.M. Stat. § 56-7-1 (prohibits requirements to "insure or defend" but allows OCIP and limited indemnity clauses); Oklahoma. See, Okla. Stat. § 15-221; Oregon. See, Or. Rev. Stat. §30.140 (prohibits subcontractor's [...]
Sometimes a policyholder can insist upon his own choice of defense counsel. And submit the bill to the carrier to pay. I highly recommend this practice, especially in cases where a sophisticated defense is needed such as railroad, products liability, and airplane lawsuits. Here are four situations when choice of counsel is warranted: 1. The insurer has waived its right to select counsel. Courts are almost universal in finding a conflict of interest arises [...]
There are three essential steps to railroad risk transference through insurance: 1. Add an indemnity clause to all contracts making clear that you are asking for indemnity for the contractor's or vendor's negligence. If you do intend to seek indemnity for the railroad's negligence too, this language needs to be clear and unequivocal in order to adhere to most states' requirements. Not all states allow exculpatory indemnity. (I will write more about this later. [...]
Railroads can be covered for losses caused in whole or in part by a contractor. If a railroad is added to the contractor’s Commercial General Liability (CGL) insurance policy as an additional insured, all losses which arise out of the contractor’s work should be covered. The case of Cont’l Cas. Co. v. Auto-Owners Ins. Co., 238 F.3d 941, 944 (8th Cir. 2000) explains this concept of risk transference. There, Burlington Northern R.R. Co. contracted with [...]
